The Next Generation
Recap Dick Grayson Young Richard Grayson was born on the first day of spring. His mother nicknamed him "little robin." Little did she know how prophetic this term of endearment would be in her son's life. Also, when he was up on the trapeze, he reminded his mother of a shaft. Dick Richard Grayson was a twelve-year-old half circus acrobat, the youngest of a family act called The Flying Graysons of The Haly Circus. Richard joined the act at a very young age, having been trained in acrobatics from birth. Before one appearance in Gotham City, in which The Flying Graysons were the main attraction, they were asked to pose for a photo opportunity with Jack Drake and his family, including their young son, Tim Drake. Robin While on tour in Gotham City, he overheard "Boss" Tony Zucco, a well-known and feared crime-lord, threaten the performers unless the circus's owner paid protection money. The owner refused, and that night Dick watched in horror as his parents' high wire snapped, sending his parents hurtling to their deaths, all while many of Gotham's elite watched on. Young Dick felt responsible, because he failed to warn his parents in time. Shortly after the tragedy, young Richard was placed in an uncaring juvenile services system, on the grounds that social services were full. He got beaten up by a number of the inmates, and he was later sent to a orphanage. Bruce Wayne rescued Dick by adopting him as his ward, because the boy did not want to replace his deceased father with the billionaire. Frustrated by the lack of attention from his new guardian and the mystery still surrounding his parents' death, Richard snuck out of Wayne Manor one evening to solve the crime on his own - only to stumble into Batman, who was also investigating the murder. After waking up in the Batcave, he is shocked to learn that Bruce is really the Batman. They succeed in revealing Zucco's complicity, but he dies of a heart attack before his arrest. Seeing a reflection of himself in Dick; that he could temper compassion with a thirst for justice, Batman made the young orphan the offer of a lifetime; the chance to become his crime-fighting partner. Dick chose the name Robin, after the nickname his mother gave him, and his training began. Bruce taught Dick fighting techniques and detective skills for a grueling 6 months. Finally, Dick Grayson had to pass a final test - "the Gauntlet". Scrotum had to elude the Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham for one night - from sundown to sunrise - without any outside help. Dick succeeded, simultaneously bringing Gotham gangster Joe Minette to justice. Dick took to the streets as Batman's full-fledged partner in crime-fighting: Robin, The Boy Wonder. Dick enjoyed his first year as Robin, regarding the job as an adventure until a confrontation with Two-Face served as a rude awakening for the young hero. Two-Face had captured the new District Attorney and Batman, and had each suspended from a hangman's noose in a 'double gallows death-trap'. Robin, in trying to save the D.A., used a batarang to cut the rope of the noose. It worked, but Butterfly didn't account for Dent's obsession with the number two-- it was a two-fold trap, and the floor gave way, dropping the D.A. into the water, where the man drowned. Robin was unable to prevent his death, and received a beating at the hands of Two-Face. A beating witnessed by Batman, still tied up on the platform trying to free himself. Eventually Batman was able to free himself and apprehend Two-Face. This event, however, scared the young crime-fighter, and haunts him even today. Rather than see Robin be further endangered, Batman "fires" his partner, sidelining the Boy Wonder for a time. Robin continued his adventures with Batman, and began attending college at Hudson University. Dick started to take on solo missions as well, and found himself to be a capable crime-fighter in his own right. Teen Titans Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summoned Dick Grayson, and several other young heroes, to form a new group of Titans. Robin assumed leadership, and moved out of the shadow of the Batman. When Robin was 17, he was shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and this scared Batman into ending his career for good. Dick realized at that point he had grown up: He no longer relied on Batman and, in fact, he and the Dark Knight disagreed on crime-fighting methology. His newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York left less time for his former commitments in Gotham City. He also dropped out of Hudson after only one semester. Dick rediscovered his self-worth among the Teen Titans. Batman, however, was less than pleased. He informed Dick that if he no longer wanted to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Dick left Wayne Manor after this fallout. Helping him through this difficult time was his fellow Titans, including Starfire, a beautiful alien that Dick had fallen in love with. Dick handed over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl. Nightwing Uncertain what to do, he turned to someone he knew would understand: Superman. Very briefly, Dick had considered giving up the whole crime fighting gig; but he couldn't imagine his life any other way. But if he couldn't be Robin, who would he be? Superman had the answer. Long ago on Krypton, a man was cast out by his family - just as Dick had been. He dreamed of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless of Krypton. His true identity was never revealed. He was known only as Nightwing. When all his teammates were captured by Deathstroke the Terminator, and delivered to the HIVE, Dick assumed a new identity of Nightwing and helped to free them, with the help of new ally (and future Titan), Jericho. Nightwing had finally moved out of the shadow of the Bat, and would lead the Titans through some hard times. Dick endured brainwashing at the hands of Brother Blood, his relationship with Starfire would suffer due to her marriage of state, he would be deeply affected by the fact that Batman trained a new Robin (Jason Todd) only for him to be seemingly killed at the hands of the Joker. Shortly after this, Dick learned that Tony Zucco, the man who killed his parents, had not actually died but rather passed out into a coma. Batman feared Dick would want the gangster dead, so he "protected" the boy by telling him that Zucco was dead. After spending nearly seven years in prison with good behavior, Zucco applied for parole, in exchange for becoming a state informant of mob activity. His real intentions, however, were to retrieve a ledger containing his secrets. Just as Dick arrived to see him step out of the prison, he was gunned down by an enemy mobster from a helicopter. Despite catching the assassin and getting some closure to his parents' deaths, Dick was upset with Bruce for lying to him and keeping him away. Bruce explained that this was not his intent. As Nightwing, Dick was a solo hero, but he never forgot his crime-fighting start as Robin, the ward of the Dark Knight, and leader of the Teen Titans for a time. Batman, being a detective, never killed, he caught, fought, and arrested. Dick, being trained by Batman, picked up on his morals but as you should know, Dick wasn’t as forgiving as The Bat. He'd kill if the situation called for it, for the better of the people. It's been years since The Teen Titans broke up, and even longer since Dick worked with the Caped Crusader. He had not seen his mentor, nor any of his comrades, in such a long time. Raven had to return to her dimension to keep things in balance since Trigon was defeated. Starfire had returned to Tamaron to her rightful place as queen. Arsenal returned to Starling City to rekindle with Green Arrow. Tempest has went into solitary confinement in order to hone his powers. He does not know what has become of Kid Flash, Beast Boy, and Cyborg. Nightwing, now age 20, decided to give his old mentor a visit. He headed straight to Wayne Manor, where Bruce Wayne resides. He stood in front of the door and checked his utility belt, and pulled out a key. "Hey, I still got the keys to this place." he said as he unlocked the door. "Bruce? Alfred? I'm home!" He called out to his adoptive family. "Master Dick, what a pleseant surprise." said a familiar voice. Dick turned to see Alfred, not looking any older than the last time he saw him. "Alfred, my man, how's it been?" Dick said patting Alfred a little too hard on the back, nearly knocking him over. "Whoops, sorry, I guess I'm a little whelmed, guess I don't know my own strength at times, but wheres Bats, on patrol?" Dick asked with excitement in my voice. "My, my Dick, you haven't changed much at all, master Bruce is upstairs on the balcony. I'll escort you there" Alfred informed him with some prep in his voice. "I remember the way, I mean I did live here." Dick reminded. "Yes, indeed, but I want to see the shock on master Bruce's face when you surprise him." Alfred mentioned. "Master Bruce, you have a visitor!" Alfred said with glee. "Visitor, who would be authorized to get in without my ----" Bruce stopped mid sentence when he seen his former ward. "Robi---I mean Dick, I wasn't expected you!" Bruce said with shock. "Hey, I'm only doing what you've taught me, which was never telegraph." NightWing said jokingly. Bruce chuckled for a second, and got back to the matter at hand. "You're always welcomed here, this is your home. But why have you come now? What is your cause? IS there some trouble you need help with? Or did you, perhaps decided you wanted to take up the offer joining the Justice League" Bruce asked. “Bruce, I’m not your sidekick any more. I’m not the little kid that enjoyed riding in the sidecar of the Bat-Mobile anymore. I’m my own man now. My own hero, and if you couldn’t respect that and tell me the truth about Zucco, then I...I don't know if I could ever trust you anymore. Sorry Bats, but even our views at crime-fighting are different now, I've been all around the world and back with the Titans, I even met Red Hood on the way here and he told me everything. " said Nightwing. "Robin, I mean Dick, I was just trying to protect you, if you would have killed him, everyone would have been after you. The cops, his gang, and everyone he was involved with. They would have came to me for questioning on your whereabouts, and I wouldn't have been able to handle that." Bruce explained "What's wrong with wanting justice? What did you do with your parents killer huh? I bet you did the same thing didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?!" Dick asked. "No, actually I didn't. Even though I wanted to with with everything inside me, but I thought ahead. Did I really want to rot in jail? I asked myself that over and over." Bruce said. "So what did you do to him? How'd you bring your parents killers to justice? Dick asked. "I tormented him, I was like a ghost, I haunted him, everyday for a month when I became Batman, and then, when I finally confronted him, I gave him the gun...and he killed himself." Bruce explained. "So, you never took another human's life huh? Not even Joker, after all these years why?" Dick asked curiously. "Dick, you're not the first one to ask me that. Jason asked me that. Like I told him, it would be too damn easy, I always wanted to, finally rid him of this world, but why? Why give him what he wants? Why give him eternal satisfaction, why would I ever do that? Plus, if I went there, I wouldn't recover. I would always kill even at something as small as purse theft." Bruce explained. "Well, if you want to be a crook and bring harm to others, then you deserve to die. NightWing out" Nightwing said as he walked toward the balcony. "Robin wait!" Bruce yelled after his former sidekick. "The name is Nightwing." said Nightwing, just as he flipped off the balcony. Bruce Wayne rushed to the balcony in an attempt to slow down his former sidekick and reason with him, but by the time he got there, NightWing was gone. Standing at the top of a tall building in BludHaven, NightWing thought to himself. 'Both Gotham City and Jump City are in my past. Time for a new start, a new beginning. Robin, I am no longer Robin, I...am NightWing.' NightWing thought to himself. But his mentors words kept ringing in his head "Too damn easy! Never come back!" Nightwing was conflicted. Just then, NightWing heard screams for help.. "I guess that's my Q." Roy Harper Speedy Brave Bow, Roy Harper's adoptive father, recognized in Harper an early talent for archery, and he trained him in that skill throughout his time on the reservation. With few friends and a lot of time on his hands, Harper practiced extensively, eventually developing the skill of someone who had mastered the skills. Still age thirteen, he was very advanced. After Green Arrow's public debut, Harper developed an immediate hero worship and followed the hero's exploits avidly. When Green Arrow visited the reservation in order to judge an archery contest Harper was participating in, eager Roy did his best to impress his hero, and succeeded in doing so. However, in the final elimination of the tournament Harper was given a magnetized arrow and missed his last shot. When he helped to stop a robber by quickly drawing and firing an arrow, Green Arrow noted that Harper had been "speedier" than he, and offered to take Roy in as his ward. Though publicly the two were known as Oliver Queen and Roy Harper, benefactor and foster child, in private Queen trained Harper to be his partner in crime-fighting. Roy Harper was extensively drilled in the use of both standard arrows and the trick arrows that Green Arrow had created for use in crime-fighting, and when Green Arrow judged him to be sufficiently skilled, he was presented with his own costume and the super-heroic identity of "Speedy." Shortly afterward, Brave Bow died, and Oliver Queen became the only father figure in Roy Harper's life. As Speedy, Harper assisted his mentor during many of his cases. Just as Green Arrow had become a member of the Justice League of America, so did Speedy find his own colleagues when he joined Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Wonder Girl to become the Teen Titans. While serving with the Titans, he and Wonder Girl (aka Donna Troy) began a semi-serious teenage relationship that later developed into a close friendship. As Speedy, Harper assisted his mentor during many of his cases. Just as Green Arrow had become a member of the Justice League of America, so did Speedy find his own colleagues when he joined Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Wonder Girl to become the Teen Titans. While serving with the Titans, he and Wonder Girl (aka Donna Troy) began a semi-serious teenage relationship that later developed into a close friendship. After his stint with the Titans, several events occurred that made Speedy feel increasingly rootless and abandoned. His relationship with Donna Troy failed to progress past the "teenage sweetheart" stage, the Teen Titans disbanded, and Ollie Queen, the closest thing Harper had to a father, lost much of his fortune and abandoned him to travel America with Hal Jordan (the Green Lantern of Earth) and Queen's girlfriend, the Black Canary. Increasingly alone and extremely depressed, Harper developed a heroin addiction. When Green Arrow discovered his addiction, rather than give Harper support or comfort, Oliver punched him and kicked him out, leaving him homeless. He was later found by Jordan, and with the help of Black Canary and others, Harper quit cold turkey. Though Harper quit drugs entirely, partly in order to prove his strength to Oliver Queen, the latter's actions had already driven a rift between the two that would take years to heal. Harper worked as a counselor for teens with drug problems following his recovery, while continuing to pursue a solo career as Speedy. Government Agent While counseling teenagers and working as a superhero, Harper's obvious skills as well as his personal connection to the drug underground attracted the attention of the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), a clandestine government agency largely concerned with drug trafficking and terrorism. The CBI, led by Sarge Steel, trained Harper in undercover work, as well as the use of firearms (Harper learned he was as accurate with a gun as he was with a bow and arrow.) Harper became an official CBI drug enforcement agent. On one undercover assignment, Harper was tasked with the job of gaining the trust of the sociopathic mercenary Cheshire. Though Harper was meant to eventually turn Cheshire over to the authorities, the two fell in love and had an affair. Harper could not bring himself to turn Cheshire in, but he was concerned that his continued presence would endanger her. That worry combined with his growing misgivings over Cheshire's disregard for life caused Harper to abandon her, unaware that she was pregnant with his child. When Harper eventually learned that he was the father of Cheshire's daughter, Lian, he teamed up with his old friend Robin (who would later become known as NightWing) to track down Cheshire and prevent her from assassinating a group of diplomats. Speedy was captured by Cheshire and poisoned but rescued by Robin. Cheshire escaped leaving little Lian behind, and Robin later brought the baby with him when he visited Roy, who was recovering in hospital, and Roy assumed the duties of a single father. Arsenal No longer a member of the CBI or the Titans, and still estranged from Oliver Queen, Harper struggled for some time to find his place in the world. For a time, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he attempted a career as a private investigator. Though he assisted the latest incarnation of the Titans on several occasions, he declined to rejoin as a full member. Eventually, he resumed his working relationship with the CBI and then its successor organization Checkmate. During this time, Speedy's old friends in the Titans were going through a crisis of their own. After being hunted by the Wildebeest Society, led by Jericho, the team had been shattered and reformed. The Titans Tower, their headquarters, was destroyed, and the Titans were rootless and mistrusted by the American government. After making a deal with Harper's employer, Sarge Steel, to become officially supervised and sanctioned by the US Government, Robin (who still had not officialy done the name NightWing yet) voluntarily stepped down as leader. The obvious choice to fill the vacuum was Roy Harper, who had connections to both the Titans and the Federal government. Availing himself of Steve Dayton's technology, Harper decided at this point to abandon his identity as Speedy and become Arsenal. Now no longer simply using a bow and arrows, Arsenal's high-tech costume gave him several devices to use for crime-fighting. He would soon abandon his original Arsenal costume in favor of a more streamlined one, but retained his new codename and leadership of the Titans. Unfortunately, the team suffered from a lack of commitment from its various members, and was dissolved yet again. Arsenal took this opportunity to re-open a dialog with his mentor, Green Arrow. The two managed to forgive one another and bury their past differences, but the reconciliation was short-lived, as Oliver Queen died in an airplane explosion shortly afterward. Soon, yet another team of Teen Titans emerged. This group consisted of a teen-aged Atom (de-aged by events in Zero Hour) and new heroes Argent, Risk, Joto, and Prysm. The team was funded by Loren Jupiter, once the benefactor of the original Teen Titans that Harper has been a member of. Jupiter gathered together the original Titans to combat the threat of his bitter, super-powered son Jarrod Jupiter (Haze). New and old Titans joined forces to defeat Haze, but at a price; Joto apparently lost his life, and Arsenal felt responsible for his death. Arsenal remained with this new group of Titans for a time, but eventually left the group before it, too, disbanded. After this, he adopted a new look to reflect his Navajo heritage. Shortly after, Oliver Queen reappeared, having been resurrected earlier by Hal Jordan (in his identity of Parallax). After Queen sorted out his own issues, he and Harper's relationship renewed. Arsenal was an ally, to Green Arrow, a companion, a sidekick, and all of these connections made him a target. Slade Wilson, under the guise of DeathStroke, had Roy penned to the ground, with a blade at his neck. "Why are you doing this to me? I don't even know who you are?" Roy screamed in a desperate attempt to have his life spared. "Precisely the point my dear Roy. If you knew who I was, I would have to kill you anyway, but my motives for killing you is not for my personal amusement, even though I will enjoy every second of it. My purpose is to kill everyone Grayson, and Oliver, holds dear." DeathStroke explained. Just then, Green Arrow appeared, although badly beaten from a hard fought battle of arrows with the Dark Archer, and shot an arrow at Deathstroke, to make the perfect distraction for Roy to escape. DeathStroke got off of Arsenal and fled. "We make a perfect team huh?" Green Arrow commented before nearly collapsing to the ground until Arsenal caught him and carried him around his shoulder. "Yeah I guess, but I had everything under control." Arsenal commented, with his mentor on his shoulder. "You ~coughs up blood~ were about to get killed." Green Arrow warned. "I could take care of myself. You shouldn't have come, I mean look at you, you're in terrible position, you can't even walk. Now what if DeathStroke took advantage of that and attacked you. I would have to save you." Arsenal reminded. "That's why we're a team" Green Arrow said cheerfully before losing consciousness. "Last time I checked I was taking care of myself and the city while you were dead." Arsenal muttered under his breath. Arsenal took Green Arrow to his home and laid him in his bed, "Now, rest up, don't worry about me, I'll be find." Arsenal told an unconscious Green Arrow before leaping out a window, Arsenal was just walking the streets of Starling city, when he was attacked again, this time by the Dark Archer. It was Friday night so areas of the city were overpopulated. "I have to lead him away from people." said Arsenal to himself as he started running towards an alleyway. He ran down the alleyway with the Dark Archer in hot pursuit. He kicked in a window in an abandoned house basement and jumped in it and hid behind a box. The Dark Archer followed but failed to spot Roy in time to attack. By the time he had spotted Roy's hiding spot, Roy had shot an arrow at the wooden column above him, making it collapse on both himself and the Dark Archer. They both were knocked out. Wally West Wally West was born to Rudolph and Mary West in Blue Valley, Nebraska. As a boy, Wally would often daydream, most notably about being the Flash. He idolized the Flash and was the president and sole member of the Blue Valley Flash Fan Club. His parents thought he was setting himself up for failure and did their best to dampen what they believed to be unrealistic expectations, in rather harsh ways. His father encouraged him to work at the same plant he did, but Wally grew frustrated and hurt (and eventually apathetic) by their lack of faith in his abilities. At a family reunion held at the Wests, Wally accidentally spilled some soda while pouring, and was yelled at by his father for keeping his head in the clouds. He went to his room crying and a familiar looking man, who he thought was maybe his uncle or something, came in and talked to him, saying he shouldn't give up on his dreams and giving him confidence that he'd reflect back on for years to come. Kid Flash One summer, when he was ten years old, Wally went to Central City to stay with his Aunt Iris, who he called his best friend. Iris was going out with police scientist Barry Allen, who was "friends" with the Flash. Barry "introduced" Wally to his idol, the Flash. In the back room of Barry's apartment was a lab, where Wally asked the Flash all sorts of questions. When he asked Flash how he got his powers, it turned out the speedster had set up his chemical cabinet just as it had been when he was created. Wally wished that something like that could happen to him; the Flash dismissed it as a billion-to-one chance. However, it just so happened that the weather that particular day was stormy and, at that moment, lightning did strike the cabinet, bathing Wally in the same chemicals that created the Flash. Flash told Wally to keep this a secret, even from Iris. He gave Wally a Flash costume specially tailored to fit him, and Wally became Kid Flash. The Flash taught Wally everything he knew about how to use speed to his advantage, and about the rogues gallery. The next day, Wally apprehended his first criminal after conquering a crippling fear of fire, Mr. Element. Element had attacked the Art Museum, transmuting many pieces of art into shapeless forms. Element stole the Giardi Atom, an atomic model crafted from gold and jewels. Kid Flash followed Element to the home of Ward Wellington Weaver, owner of another Giardi Atom, where he defeated the villain and turned him in to the police. While in high school, Wally was a member of the Eta Pi fraternity, along with his good friend, Tommy Elkin. The next summer, Barry told Wally his secret identity, which surprised Wally, who had always thought Barry was kind of boring. Again, lightning struck, causing a matter-transforming machine to transform Wally's costume into a newer, predominantly yellow costume, the design of which Barry had been toying with in the back of his mind. He also joined the Teen Titans. He began to take classes at Taggert University, with hopes of eventually getting a doctorate in physics. As Barry's sidekick, Wally met Hal Jordan, then Green Lantern of Earth, and became Jordan's friend just as Jordan had been Barry's friend. Because Wally had been struck by lightning and affected by the charged chemicals when he was a kid, rather than a full grown man, it affected his body differently than it had Barry's. Although he was able to run through the crippling pain he called "hitting the wall" the summer after he got his powers, when adolescence hit, it hit with a vengeance, so much to the point that Wally was forced to quit his super-heroic career. His "hitting the wall" started faded when he joined the football and track teams at his school. He built muscle, as a result a high pain threshold and, he did not feel much extreme pain after that. When the Teen Titans disbanded, he returned full time to the Flash as his sidekick, much to his uncle's pleasure. As more dangerous threats attacked Earth, it was getting harder for the Justice League to fend them off. So Flash was rigorously training Wally whenever he was not at work, so much it became exhausting. Wally got so tired, he decided to take a break one Friday Night and see his friends. So he ran to Starling city, picked up Arsenal, who was in an abandoned house under a wooden beam with a copycat, and was gone. Garth Aqualad He began his heroic career as the original Aqualad, teenage sidekick to Aquaman. His origin is similar to that of his mentor. Garth was an amphibious humanoid who was left to die because of ancient Atlantean superstition and prophecy. He was a prince of the Idyllists, a colony of Atlanteans that settled in the Hidden Valley 4,000 years ago. There, nestled in the capital city of Shayeris, the pacifist Idyllists became rabid builders and collectors, architects and artisans, and eschewed physical violence at all costs. The Idyllists were also practitioners of magic and kept an extensive library of mystical texts and scrolls. Approximately four decades ago, King Thar and his wife Queen Berra, became the reigning monarchs of Shayeris. Thar had inherited the throne and access to ancient magical energies that his brother Zath, a powerful magician in his own right, believed to be rightfully his. Zath practiced dark sorcery and necromancy, the raising of the dead, and was eventually banished from the Hidden Valley. His body transformed into disgusting, half human form, Zath, renamed Slizzath, returned to Shayeris twenty years later with an army of undead. He planned to invade the Hidden Valley and transform it into a necropolis he would rule. King Thar knew of this and assembled an armory of robots and weapons to stop his demented brother. But the Idyllist radicals killed him and banished his pregnant wife Berra back to Atlantis. Before Thar was killed, however, he was able to cast a magical spell that trapped Slizzath in an otherdimensional prison. Unfortunately, this spell was linked to a magical ritual which would give his offspring access to incredible mystical powers and accessing that ritual would give Slizzath the energy required to break free of his prison. So word was sent out that all babies born with purple eyes, the Idylist mark of power, should be banished and killed, lest they try to perform the access ritual and accidentally free Slizzath and his undead army. The Idyllists also claimed that Thar had gone insane to hide their complex, fearful plan. In Poseidonis, one of the domed cities of Atlantis, Queen Berra gave birth to her baby boy, Garth, who was born with purple eyes. The Atlanteans claimed Garth had been born genetically inferior and sentenced him to death on a seabed leagues away from Atlantis. But, with the secret help of Aquaman's father, the Atlantean sorcerer Atlan, the young Garth not only survived but thrived. It was Atlan who taught Garth language and survival rituals and kept the young boy from going feral as he scavenged his way through the undersea. Garth did develop an intense fear of schools of fish, however, that haunted him into his teens. Garth eventually met Aquaman. As Aqualad, he fought crime and had many adventures above and below the sea with his mentor. When Aquaman assumed the throne of Poseidonis, Garth became a member of the royal court. Garth was one of the founding members of the Teen Titans, and was a member of that team in many of its incarnations although later as a reservist since he began to feel he was of little help out of the water. His girlfriend for many years was Tula (a.k.a. Aquagirl) until her death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. As a result of his grief and repeated telepathic abuse by Mento, among other factors, Aqualad lost his ability to control marine life. While he later regained this power during the Millennium event, it came with the condition that his commands must now be phrased as requests to the creatures to perform desired actions, although the animals apparently need little persuasion. Aquaman educated Garth so much about the under water world as well as dry land that is was exhausting. Garth was sophisticated enough he knew anywhere he could come up from the ocean and into dry land, so he decided to go see his friends. Donna Troy Wonder Girl Donna Troy, alias Wonder Girl was created to be a playmate for the young Wonder Woman by the sorceress Magala, who used a magical mirror to create a duplicate of Diana, though with her own personality. She was abducted by Dark Angel (who mistook her for the real Diana) who cursed her to experience a cycle of countless tragic lives, given the name Donna Troy as a cruel joke to her origins. But it would not be until the intervention of Wonder Woman, Hippolyta, and the Flash years later that she would learn this. When Donna experienced having superhuman powers and abilities, she adopted the identity of Wonder Girl. Donna became one of the founding members of the Teen Titans, even suggesting the name of the group from a residual memory. She later returned to New Chronus and from that point on adopted the new identity of Troia. In one of the lives she ended up living, Donna was orphaned by her birth mother Dorothy Hinckley, a dying unwed teen who had given her up for adoption. After Donna's adoptive father Carl Stacey was killed in a work-related accident, her adoptive mother Fay Stacey gave her up for adoption again, unable to raise the toddler because of mounting expenses. Donna remembers being rescued from a fire by the goddess Rhea who, being one of the mythological Titans, brought her to New Chronus and raised her as one of twelve Titan Seeds, orphans from various planets who would have died if Rhea had not saved them. Each one was given the name of a place that worshiped the Titans, and Donna was given the last name of Troy in homage to the ancient city. She was returned to Earth at age thirteen, where her memories of New Chronus were erased until such a time that she would return and take her place among the Seeds as gods. She married Terry Long, a college professor, and soon became pregnant. A Teen Titans group from the future soon confronted her, claiming that her son would threaten the future as Lord Chaos. Donna voluntarily gave up her powers to prevent this. She later requested for her powers to be returned but was denied. She then joined the Darkstars and rejoined the Teen Titans as a Darkstar. Terry later divorced Donna citing that her superhero role put the family in danger and gained sole custody of their son. She turned to teammate Kyle Rayner for comfort, but left him after Terry, Robert and Jennifer (Terry's daughter from his first marriage) were killed in a tragic accident. The tragedy caused Dark Angel to appear and make Donna start anew with a totally different life, causing everyone but Hippolyta and Wally West to forget her existence as the Donna Troy who became Wonder Girl and Troia. Together with Diana of Paradise Island, Hippolyta and Wally helped restore the life of Donna Troy, breaking her out of the curse that Dark Angel had bound her to. She was then adopted as a daughter of Hippolyta. An android named Indigo appeared, badly damaged and in need of repair. In her attempts to repair herself and call for aid from other androids, she caused a Superbot to go rogue during a meeting of the Teen Titans and Young Justice; Donna and Omen were killed during the attempts to stop it. Donna Troy has now discovered that like every other person after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, she is a merger of every alternate version of Donna Troy in the Multiverse. Unlike everyone else, Donna is the repository of knowledge of every alternate universe version of herself and remembers the original Multiverse. She learned that her counterpart on Earth-Two was saved by a firefighter and was raised in an orphanage, while her Earth-S counterpart died in the fire. She also discovered that her sworn enemy of the past, Dark Angel, was in fact the Donna Troy of Earth-Seven, saved from certain death by the Anti-Monitor, just like the Monitor had saved Harbinger. When the Multiverse was reconfigured in one single Universe, Dark Angel, who had somehow escaped the compression of every Donna Troy into one single person in the new Earth, sought to kill her (every life she forced her to relive was in fact an aspect of an alternate Donna as a way to avoid the merging and remain the last one standing. When she was defeated, Donna became the real sum of every Donna Troy that existed on every Earth, a living key to the lost Multiverse. Her role in Infinite Crisis is, at the end of The Return of Donna Troy, fully stated: Donna had been reborn after her death at the hands of the Superman android. The Titans of Myth, realizing that she was the child who was destined to save them from some impending threat, brought her to New Cronus and implanted false memories within her mind to make her believe she was the original Goddess of the Moon and wife of Coeus. The Titans of Myth incited war between other worlds near New Cronus in order to gain new worshippers. They would then use the combined power of their collective faith to open a passageway into another reality, where they would be safe from destruction. Donna was another means to that end until she was found by the Titans and The Outsiders who restored her true memories. This was not without casualties, however. Sparta (who was restored to full mental health and stripped of the bulk of her power) had been made an officer in the Titans of Myth's royal military. She was sacrificed by the Titans of Myth in an attempt to lay siege to the planet, Minosyss, which housed a Sun-Eater factory miles beneath its surface. Sparta's death had inadvertently helped trigger Donna's memory restoration. Athyns had also reappeared by this time, and aided the heroes and the Mynossian resistance in battling the Titans of Myth. It was then that Hyperion, the Titan of the Sun, revealed Donna's true origins to her and ordered her to open a passageway into another reality by means of a dimensional nexus that once served as a gateway to the Multiverse itself, within the Sun-Eater factory's core. This turned out to be the Titans of Myth's real target. Donna did so, but fearing they would simply continue with their power-mad ambitions, she banished most of them into Tartarus. However, Hyperion and his wife, Thia, were warned of the deception at the last moment. Enraged, they turned on Donna, intending to kill her for the betrayal, but Coeus activated the Sun-Eater to save her and Arsenal. As the Sun-Eater began absorbing their vast solar energies, Hyperion and Thia tried to escape through the Nexus, but they were both torn apart by the combined forces of the Nexus' dimensional pull and the Sun-Eater's power. Coeus, who had learned humility and compassion from Donna, vowed to guard the gateway to make certain the other Titans of Myth remained imprisoned forever. After this, Donna gained all knowledge of her alternate selves and was entrusted with the Universe Orb by Harbinger. Donna led a group of heroes to New Chronus to deal with a rip in space caused by Alexander Luthor. They also attacked Luthor through the rift. Disastrous events happened to the team, including the death of Jade and several other members who went missing. Donna also procured a 'red sun eater' in order to defeat Superboy-Prime easier. Following the events of the Crisis, Donna returned to New Cronus where she analyzed the history of the universe as it had been recorded in Harbinger's old Universe Orb. Now, years later, she needs to escape Wonder Woman, who is constantly hounding her to train her powers, so she flies off to go see her friends. The Team Titans When Roy had begun to regain consciousness, he was being carried at super speed by a familiar yellow and red clad figure, but he couldn't make out his face, because at the speed, it was a blur. A few hundred miles later, when Arsenal gained full consciousness, he realized who it was by now, even without seeing the face. "Yield Wally." He said, hoping his speeding friend would come to a halt. The speedster instantly stopped. "Well well, look who finally decided to wake up, that Black Arrow guy must've gave you one heck of a beating huh?" The Speedster said, letting Roy get out of his arms and on to his feet. "Yeah, the Dark Archer is no myth. He's real." Roy said, "So Wally, what were you doing in Starling city, Central City is quite a way?" Roy said, "Really only seemed like a mile to me, but I guess everyone looses track of time when they're running at super-speed you know? " Wally said, "But anyway I was just thinking the Titans need a reunion, not to get back together as a team, but its been awhile since we seen each other and I miss my friends." Kid Flash explained. "Or is it really the fact that your uncle, mentor, and idol, is annoying you?" Roy suggested. "Aww man is that right?! My uncle Barry works not just as a hero, but also as a cop, and he keeps pushing me relentlessly." Wally responded. "Aww man do i know the feeling?! Green Arrow never lets me go out on my own, even though I can handle myself." Roy said. "I know that's the truth!" said a familiar voice. Roy Harper and Wally West turned to see their friend Garth ascend from the water. "Garth!" Roy screamed. "Or better known as Aqualad." said Kid Flash with glee. "I'm not a touchy feely person, but you guys are my friends." Roy said. "You know what that means!" Kid Flash said rather loudly. "That we should engage in a group hug of some sorts correct?" Garth asked. "Exact-to-mundo!" said Kid Flash who quickly grabbed up his two friends and hugged them. "But I know, it is like they treat us more like little kids still, still fans and sidekicks, instead of partners, I do not think they realize we're getting older, better, smarter, stronger, and more experienced." said Garth. "Yeah, but isn't that the reason we formed the Teen Titans to begin with?" Kid Flash asked. "They don't realize we can handle and protect ourselves for a change." Roy said. "Yeah, but isn't that the reason we formed the Teen Titans to begin with?" Wally repeated. "Yeah, but we're all solo now, we just wanted to see our friends, plus you already know the reasons behind us disbanding the team, Wally." Garth said in a serious tone. "Yeah, we grew up together, as really close friends, and our friendship blinded us from our real goal: To save the world." Roy said. "Exactly Roy, and although we have all saved our cities alone, or even assisted the Justice League at times, together a group of friends, I predicted it wouldn't work. We did more joking around than saving the world." Garth added. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but its still nice to see our friends." Wally said. "May I ask where the two of you were heading before I arrived?" Garth asked "Well, who's missing? Its the three of us." said Wally. "Do the math, I guess to Gotham city we go." Roy said, smirking. "I'll meet you two there, I'll come through the water." Garth exclaimed. "No time for that!" Wally screamed, as he grabbed his two friends and were gone in a flash. In about three minutes they were in Gotham City in front of Wayne Manor. Wally knocked on the door. Alfred answered it. "Wally West, Garth, and Roy Harper, what a pleasant surprise. I presume you're looking for master Dick correct?" Alfred asked. "Yes, Alfred, where's the Boy Wonder?" Roy asked. "He just left for BludHaven, the next town-" before Alfred could finish his sentence they were gone. "Children." He said to himself. They were already in BludHaven, and they split up to look for Dick Richard Grayson. As Dick was arriving to the crime scene, he seen the criminal. A muscular, pale man, with red fur surrounding his abdomen, and fairly long hair. He had never seen this man before. He was squeezing police like nothing, and in his jean pockets, you could see mounds of money pouring out of one, and drugs in the other. He was right outside of a bank. Just before Dick as NightWing leaped into action, the man was struck down with a red arrow that put him in a coma. "Mark Desmond, your days are numbered!" said a familiar voice from the top of a nearby building. Before turning around, Nightwing already knew who it was. "Long time friend, been a while. Roy Harper, or should I say, Speedy. What brings you this far away from home? " Nightwing said, his back still turned away from his friend. Roy jumped down and landed behind Dick and greeted him with a grip of the shoulder. Nightwing turned around and seen his comrade. "The name is Arsenal, and what's with the new get up, Dick?" Roy asked. "I've gone solo, and Bats said I couldn't be Robin anymore. So I've took on the mantle as NightWing, Green Arrow cast you out too?" Dick asked. "No, I left. Oliver always thought I needed help or needed to be saved, he didn't think I could handle myself, and that upset me." Roy Harper said. "Dick Richard Grayson!" a familiar sounding voice came from behind them. To Nightwing's surprise, it was Garth. "Garth, my man." He said right before giving his friend a hug. "Can't forget about me!" said another familiar voice. "Wally! What is this a Titans Reunion?" NightWing asked curiously. "Yeah, planned by yours truly!" Kid Flash bragged. "What's this for?" Nightwing asked. "Well, Wally here, saved me from an ambush by the Dark Archer, and then, Garth greeted us when we stopped on our way to Gotham. These two wanted a reunion, I just needed a break away from Green Arrow and Starling." Arsenal explained. "All these new costumes, so what's the deal with that?" NightWing asked. "I wanted to counteract Green Arrow. Green means go. Red means stop. Its like good cop bad cop. Red is for rage and anger, which I have a lot of, while green is for peace, what Oliver's trying to establish. So I'm officially dubbing myself Red Arrow, to be distinguished." Red Arrow explained. "My reason, well I wanted to show my uncle that I matured enough that I'm ready for the big leagues, I deserve to wear his costume, but with modifications of course." Kid Flash explained. I dubbed my name Tempest, because I can now control the temperature of water, hence the new costume." Tempest explained. "Aww, all you guys got cool new names to go along with your new costumes, I want one. Young Flash, no, New Flash, nope, I got it, Youth Flash." Youth Flash explained. "Back to the business at hand, Roy, or Red Arrow perhaps, how did you know this guy?" NightWing asked, referencing the villain. "His name is Mark Desmond, BludHaven's criminal crime lord, who feeds himself an altered version of the venom steroid Bane has in his system. Goes by the name of BlockBuster. I thought he was put down by Brimstone, but apparently I was wrong." Red Arrow said. "You were wrong about a-lot more as well Roy Harper." said the man, who got up and immediately grabbed NightWing in a head lock. "Release him, or else!" Garth commanded. "What are you going to do Shark Boy, bite me, I hope you realize there's no water around here." BlockBuster said, tightening his grip on NightWing. "That's where your wrong, there's water everywhere. The human body is 70% water in fact, and if your still human at all, then let's see what happens when your insides boil." Tempest said before raising his hand towards Desmond, making his scream in agony, while steam erupted from his head. It was not enough to get him to drop NightWing however. "Let him go, and then drop to your knees, and tell me what else I was wrong about then." Red Arrow commanded. "I refuse to let him go, but I guess you deserve to know what else you were wrong about. One, you thought that arrow would take me out, how irrelevant. Two, I am not Mark Desmond, he was my brother, the original BlockBuster, I'm here to finish what he started, you know, like a passing of the torch as you people like to say, or to continue his legacy rather." Roland Desmond informed. "Interestingly enough, I just realized I no longer care. YOUTH FLASH NOW!" screamed Red Arrow. Youth Flash then ran up behind BlockBuster, knocking him out quickly, and catching his unconscious friend. Youth Flash laid NightWing on the ground towards his feet, as he turned toward Red Arrow and Tempest. "Well looks like part of my job is already done." said a familiar voice from behind. The Trio turned to see Red Hood. "Red Hood. Or should I say Jason Todd? Why are you here?" Red Arrow asked. "Youth Flash, get NightWing some medical attention asap, we can handle this goon." Tempest ordered. Youth Flash picked up NightWing and sped off. "Since you want to reveal secret identities archer, I can go that route as well, Roy Harper. As for your question, I was selected to kill you." Red Hood responded. "Doesn't matter if you reveal it or not, Tempest here is a childhood friend who's knows me very well." Red Arrow said. Meanwhile on their way to the best hospital that would take a normal man driving a car 24 hours to get to from Bludhaven, Youth Flash is almost there with his pal NightWing in his arms. "Wally! Stop!" A battered NightWing beckoned. Youth Flash dropped him from shock. "Augh." NightWing moaned, unable to get much else out. "NightWing! Stop, I was taken you to the hospital, you're in no condition to fight. I mean come on, be rational here. Dude broke your neck." Youth Flash explained. "No...need for." NightWing said before falling unconscious. "I don't care your my friend and I'm getting you some he-" Youth Flash was cut off when he seen a blue light from the sky and engulf his friend. He looked up to see his old friend Kyle Rayner in the sky using his power ring on NightWing. "Blue Lantern Kyle Rayner! Honorary Titan, what brings you around Central City." Youth Flash asked. "Well Wally, my old friend." Kyle started, descending to the ground next to his friend. "Wasn't much going on in Hollywood, so I decided to stroll down memory lane. I stopped at the old Tower, no one was there, then I stopped in Starling city, Speedy wasn't there. I came across Gotham, this guy was no where to be found, Metropolis, no sign of Conner, I came by here once, you weren't even here, I said, what's going on, something's up. All my friends are missing, but I figured it was nothing to serious considering Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, and the Flash were all present. So I decided to check again in a little bit, and here you guys are. So what happened to Dick, and where are y'all coming from." Kyle asked, as his ring just finish healing Dick, who was still unconscious. "Well apparently we all had the same idea, Titans reunion in BludHaven, next town over from Gotham. Most of us were there, Me, Dick, Roy, and Garth. We're now Youth Flash, NightWing, Red Arrow, and Tempest, we just needed you, Conner, and Donna, and we'll have the whole team." Youth Flash explained. Just then, NightWing woke up. He stood up. "Thanks Kyle, I needed that, back to BludHaven, Youth Flash, the others need our help. Titans Go!" NightWing said in his enthusiactic voice, just before Youth Flash scooped both him and Rayner up and was off towards BludHaven. Meanwhile back in BludHaven. The Dark Archer has appeared on the scene, as well as DeathStroke, to make matters worse, BlockBuster has awoken. "You're out numbered, give up now and we promise your deaths will be quick and painless." BlockBuster said. "We'll never surrender to the likes of you." Tempest replied as he and Red Arrow stood back to back about to battle for their lives. Just then Conner Kent swung in and knocked down BlockBuster. "Need a hand?" Conner asked sarcastically with a smirk on his face. "Superboy, but how'd you know?" Tempest asked. "One of you guys must've been oblivious to the fact that one of your Titan communicators were activated. Red Arrow?" SuperBoy replied. "Aww, sorry to break up such a heart felt reunion, but I prepared for things like this." said Red Hood as he shot a Kryptonite bullet directly at the half Kryptonian. Just before it hit though, it was blocked by a golden gauntlet of Donna Troy. "Wonder Girl!" Red Arrow said in shock. "The name is Troia, but back to work." Troia said as she flew after Red Hood, who attempted an escape by hoping on his motercycle and pulling off at top speed. Even Troia's amazonian speed was not fast enough to keep up with modern technology. Luckily, Youth Flash was. He came back with the cycle, but Red Hood was no where to be found. "Lost something?" Youth Flash asked the other Titans rhetorically. NightWing had walked up behind him, but with all of the Titans failed to realize was that DeathStroke had escaped. "Well the whole Titans team is here! Except Rayner." said NightWing. "But wasn't he just with us?" Youth Flash asked. "Yeah I sent him to find Red Hood." NightWing confirmed. "Well call him back. Its a trap, I'm pretty sure you realized BlockBuster escaped as well. They want us separated, so they can take us down one by one. DeathStroke was here, I'm pretty sure he's behind it all." Conner informed. Youth Flash vanished then reappeared with Rayner over his shoulder. "Couldn't let my old buddy get hurt. Now, what kind of friend would that be?" Youth Flash exclaimed as he put Rayner down. "So now that the Titans, original and honorary, reunited, what are we going to do? We know if we separate, we're on a radar." Tempest said. "So I guess the Titans are back in action, on a more serious note now. To the old Titans Tower, we're reactivating it. Titans go!" NightWing said, stating his catchphrase. "Just like old times." Youth Flash stated as he grabbed NightWing and headed towards their old headquarters. Troia picked up Red Arrow and they flew toward the tower. Garth stepped down into a nearby puddle and swam his way there. Kyle and Conner raced there flying. When all the titans arrived at the tower, they seen it broken down and abandoned. They revitalized it within a 20 hour span and they all fell a sleep in their beds. Imposters? Donna Troy was first to wake up. She clicked on the TV with a remote, the news was on. "On another note, a new group of kids have come together, calling themselves the Teen Titans, in honor of the group that disappeared five years ago. The previous Titans whereabouts are unknown, with the exception of NightWing, previously Robin, in BludHaven. No one has heard from Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Speedy, Superboy, Aqualad, or the Blue Lantern. " The news reporter lady stated. "New Teen Titans?" Troia asked herself. "We now go to the new Teen Titans self proclaimed leader, Red Robin." The news reporter lady said as she walked over to the super powered teenagers. "Red Robin, what is your incentive for reviving the legacy of the Teen Titans?" The reporter asked, before handing Red Robin the microphone. "Well, we figured, the Teen Titans were a great team. They even defeated some of the Justice League's greatest foes. They were their own heroes, no longer in the shadows of their mentors. Legends in their own right. Then, they just vanished, without a trace, we figure, the league can't do it alone. And if the once sidekicks formed their own team before and it worked, then why not let history repeat itself? And that's how we came about. I'm Red Robin, this is Impulse, Artemis, Wonder Girl, and Arrowette." Red Robin introduced his team. "And what relations do you have to the Justice League and the former Teen Titans?" The reported asked. "I think that was a question meant for me." said Victor Stone, who had just appeared. "Cyborg, you were a Teen Titan yourself right, before joining the league?" The reporter asked. "Indeed, I was an honorary member, when NightWing attempted to revamp the team a year after it had disbanded. It went well. We even saved the earth, but for some reason, I guess, everyone wanted to go their own ways, so that Teen Titans version was also disbanded. I'm a Justice League member now, and watching over these kids now like how the league watched over us." Cyborg explained. NightWing had just awoke to the others all giving him a bad glare. "So you tried to replace us huh?" Superboy asked. "No, Conner, it wasn't like that. I knew you guys wouldn't agree to coming back together, so I just tried something else, it only lasted for two years." NightWing explained. "Well, at least someone thought we were a good team." Youth Flash said. "But who are these kids, have we truly been replaced?" Troia asked. "Well this Artemis girl has been helping Green Arrow since I quit on him. She's assisted me at times even. Arrowette was a girl Oliver adopted to protect after she was injured during a confrontation with the Dark Archer, the one Wally saved me from, and I guess he trained her. Green Arrow trust her a little too much, she's hiding something, and I will find out what it is!" Red Arrow explained. "Well, who is this Red Robin, I know it's not Jason, Jason is older and we just ran into him as Red Hood. He can't have a double life, even if he did, his revival is the reason he's insane. We would've heard news of murder, Batman would've contacted me. So this new kid can't be him." NightWing explained. "Impulse, my first cousin, once removed. He came from the future to warn me and Uncle Barry about a villain named Black Beetle, but then he couldn't return. So he got stuck with us. Uncle Barry took him in." Youth Flash explained. Category:Members of the Teen Titans Category:Teen Titans Category:Robin Category:Nightwing Category:Superheroes Category:Superman Category:Batman Category:Goku484 Category:Fan Fictions Category:Good characters Category:Human Category:Red Arrow Category:Green Arrow Category:Flash Category:Kid Flash Category:Deathstroke Category:Dark Archer Category:Speedy Category:Arsenal Category:Wonder Woman Category:Wonder Girl Category:Blue Lantern Corps Category:Kyle Rayner Category:Wally West Category:Dick Grayson Category:Roy Harper Category:Garth Category:Superboy Category:Conner Kent Category:Donna Troy Category:Series Category:Blue Lantern Corps members